*Update: A&P Tax debacle

When the A&P Tax debate first began in Searcy, I insisted that the tax was nothing more than a penalty on Harding University, its students and their families: the tax raised the rate on prepared foods and drinks by 1% and the rate on hotels to 3%. Since Harding students provide the bulk of revenue for local restaurants and Harding parents fill hotels, this sure seemed like a tax on Harding to me.

I mobilized the Harding College Republicans and we conducted a phone survey, calling all of the alderman and asking them to vote against the tax or, at the very least, let the citizens of Searcy vote on this issue. This was an eye-opening experience for all of us. Many of the alderman were appalled that we had bothered them and almost all of them dismissed our pleas as irrelevant and 'fabricated.' Alderman Steve Sterling dared to argue that "the tax is a good idea because you pay this tax anyway when you go eat in Little Rock" (I am still sorting through that logic).

Unfortunately, my assessment of the A&P tax was even more accurate than I knew at the time: it has recently been discovered that the A&P Commission is considering taxing the Harding cafeteria, and of course they will, if they can sort through all of the red tape surrounding this 501-C3. Therefore, not only will Harding students be penalized when they go out to eat, they will also be penalized when they eat on campus.

Alderman Sterling has told me repeatedly that the A&P Tax is a "participatory tax." For Harding students, the choice seems to be #1. Pay the tax and eat or #2. Die.

Once again, the elitist politicians in the Searcy city government have overstepped their bounds. They have given the A&P Commission, a group that is altogether unaccountable to the people of Searcy, far too much authority.

It is time to give the power back to the people.